Monday, 25 August 2008

disgrantled carer

you may remember i wrote a few weeks back i was applying to get away for a few days sometime. i wrote a long letter to my carers assessment social worker (casw in future,its bit of mouthfull ) asking if it was possible to get any help towards a break,financial help that is.when i had my assessment earlier in year,which as my early entries told i had waited for,for 4 months,the casw promised me several things. mum would get a voluntary visitor, that took 3 months. yes C comes now,and i am grateful to her. but it took ages to get set up. i was promised help to fill in forms, i had a letter from the person concerned,he was busy but would be in touch. never heard a word. as i already have said i had a spell of self denial and never did anything about it until the other week. and that was because of my MS nurse giving me different organisation to go to. never heard a word from other. i was promised help from carers organisations,and yes i am now registered, never had to use them yet but they are there. and carers grant. casw told me there is a grant carers can apply for every year,up to £200 for help with things like breaks,doing hobbies etc. i asked for help towards a new bed for mum as hers was broken,and it was making my job hard to make it. i got £150 nowhere near enough for a new bed. so i repaired her old one,and we bought a nice thick new mattress for her with the money. cost £170 but mum is comfortable. now she casw told me this grant is paid every year , just apply,say what you want the money for,runs from april to april. so thats what i had asked for my break. carers grant to enable me to get away for 3 days. hadnt heard a word until wednesday.

i had gone to doctors,got home,mum said social services rang, will ring you later this afternoon. never did. next morning i went up shop to get papers,came home they rang again said mum will ring you lunch time. never did. finally she rang me friday. a new social worker i have never met before, asked me how things were, and when did i want to go away? promising i thought. mid october i said. ok she said,i can arrange cover for your mum,extra carers to get her food etc. blah,blah. no word about money. then she said,oh i am reading your letter, you wish to know if there is any financial help.well there is this charity you could apply to,i will send details, ermmmm just sec.i said i applied for carers grant, oh she said,you have to get in touch with work and pensions carers allowance is nothing to do with norfolk county council now................. whoah, i cant GET carers allowance, the benefit i am on i cant get it. i applied for carers GRANT. i explained it all to her. and she had never heard of it. said maybe it was a one off? no i was told every year. maybe it was a social grant,they have to be repaid but....................NO,ITS A CARERS GRANT. long and short, i had a small bit of paper come, with this charitys address on and phone number to apply to see if i can get any help from them, she will look into carers grant,but couldnt find anything on her computer about it. goodbye mr lake.

i went on the website for carers. and i cant find anything about the grant either. still got the slip that came with the cheque,and sent it to the social worker,but it does look like thanks to cuts in social security funding, carers grant has gone. along with any hope i had of getting away. i havent got money to waste on taking a holiday. i only applied because i thought the grant was available. working on what you never have you never miss,i guess i am not really too surprised. but i am just one carer. there are thousands in the country. and for some, that grant, to be able to go away for a little break is a lifeline. i shall apply to the charity, but i am unpaid, i get little help, surely more could be done to help the helpers? we save this country tens of thousands of pounds,by providing care that otherwise would have to be funded for. a caring society?? take care all. many,many thanks for all the lovely comments and emails i got over the MS entry. mort

23 comments:

specialadyfink
said...

So sorry they can't help you out.Don't they know that you "NEED" to get away for your own sanilty. That you will do a much better job of care taking if you have a chance now and then to re-coup.My best to you.Your mum is so very fortunate to have you.Cyber Hugs~connie~

Oh Mort, I am so sorry about all this red tape and how people always seemed to be pushed from one department to another.That is why many benefits go unclaimed not only for carers, the disabled but also pensioners. The forms are too difficult to fill in, there are few in authority willing to help sort them out. I agree with what you said about carers, the government would have a fit if suddenly every carer stopped and they had to provide the care and cover. There are many children who care for parents as well.Please contact that charity, that is what they are there for. They may be able to give you the help that you need and also maybe more help you are unaware of. They should also give you support. Do not give up on that break away yet, it could still happen.

It is a thankless job for sure. My sisters and I had the care of my parents before they passed away and the only help we could be assured of was what we could pay for. Needless to say we did not pay . One of my sisters does not work and she had the brunt of the care as the other 2 of us have to work out side the home. It often sounds like there is alot of help out there but when it comes down to it, it is very meager. Take care and try to count your blessings and not your woes which are many and warrented. 'On Ya'-ma

Hi Mort ..... well you could certainly come to me for a few days, but i suspect you could not afford the train fare, it cost me £150 to go to Yorkshire ! Please know you are welcome at any time :o)Its so annoying to think that Carers do not receive the support they need. Come on Great Britain show us exactly what is GREAT about this country.Luv Jaynee X

I can imagine how very frustrating this must be for you Mort ,you do your job day in and day out because you want your Mum to have the best care and this is how you are treated ,its all wrong ..love Jan xx

Getting any help here is like pulling teeth. I was caring for my Mom when she was sick, and I had to pay for someone to come sit with my Mom. At the time, in 1994 it was $15/hour. So it cost LOTS to do ANYTHING 'cause I couldn't leave her alone. It's awful! Needless to say, I didn't go anywhere that I did not HAVE to! I'm so sorry about this. I hope you do get some financial help to get some respite. I know you need it.Hugs and love, Pam

OHHHHHHHHHH Mort, Caring....what caring....you may well ask....where is it when we need it...Governments.... of all colours.....are expecting charities to take on more and more responsibility for doing what really should be government funded. I do not know where it will all end. Keep smiling x Love Sybil xx

hey Mort! You deserve a vacation poor dear. i do agree that governments dont do enough. here in America grandparents are raising their grandchildren for parents who are on drugs or in jail and they get little help. Now if a stanger does the same job , they get paid a salary.well you have a lovely garden . try not to be upset that does no good. enjoy the warm weather and lovely garden before it turns cold.i sat on my porch enjoying the wind and rain and listen to my windchimes while hurricane faye threatend the coastline. Thats as close as I will get to a vacation lol, hugs and best wishes, jun

Mort, I'm so sorry that they weren't able to come through for you with the grant. So many services have been cut here in the states, and it sounds like the same thing is happening there. I hope something will work out so that you can get your break...you certainly deserve it.

Hey Mort. I guess we all should not be surprised to find that beauracies are the same every where. You get tired being referred to someone else, (they take care of that. ) Let me get back to you. I will ring you right back!

YOu could probably make a list fot he same canned answers. BUT then once in awhile you find the person who really cares, and it makes all the difference.

Hi Mort,Sorry things are not panning out. When you have a good day you must make a pain in the tush of yourself with these organizations. You may finally get the right answer. It has taken me three trips to the auto dealer, 4 calls to cheverolet, but finally got brakes fixed at no charge. There are programs out there, but you have to be persistent and ask a hundred questions and most of all have lots of patience. Same stuff here. Glad your mom is resting better, by the way I am gonna get the chain saw out soon and whack off that weeping cherry top. Kelly

Hiya Mort, so sorry for all the "mess". Thanks for your little story on my journal. I had heard that story before, but it had changed a bit, I hadn't heard that the fingers would be lost, only shown as they went to pull the bow. I love little "histories" like that. Thanks again, and thanks for commenting recently! Sue

Government entities absolutely suck at times :( I had a stint back in 2001 after 9-11 happened where the economy was so very bad here and many people lost their jobs where I had to rely on the government for a short period of time for help... never have had to do so before, yet, from the paperwork, the grilling interviews, being a citizen of this country (born here) it was like pulling teeth! now, if I had been a illegal immigrant, a woman with oodles of kids but no husband (we have those here where they just have baby after baby in order to STAY on welfare and not work) I would have had NO problem, but being a "single, white, somewhat educated female, has always paid her taxes, never been on welfare before" I had to prostrate myself to get it. Ticked me off... I agree with there should be some kind of monetary back up for caregivers, that is damned hard and stressful work! not to mention with your M.S. Stress does not help your situation at all. Will be lighting candles for you hon. Blessings** Teresa

DEDICATED TO MUM.DIED 22/08/2013

mort,62,in ill health with Secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis,severe spine problems,one disc removed,another burst,osteoporosis,severe Angina after heart attack,2 stents fitted.sadly just lost my 92 year old mother I was carer for,for many years,hence the title of my old blog,Caring and Sharing

thanks to teresa xxx

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